The disclosure relates to improved wall sleeve assemblies for the installation of Minisplit (also referred to as ductless) air conditioner evaporators, also known as indoor units, which are installed on vertical wall surfaces.
All wall mounted air conditioner evaporators for minisplit systems require four connections: (1) a condensate drain hose, (2) an electrical cable, which is usually inserted through the wall from the exterior of the building, and (3)-(4) two insulated copper refrigerant pipes, which are commonly referred to as a lineset.
The condensate hose, which typically is supplied with the evaporator, consists of a short length of insulated drain hose that is usually about 18 inches long, but can vary from one manufacturer to another. One end of the condensate hose is connected to the condensate drain pan inside the evaporator and the other end is connected to a drain pipe which directs the condensate produced by the evaporator to a suitable drainage point inside or, more often, outside the building.
The interior lineset stubs, which are supplied with the evaporator, consist of two stubs of slightly different lengths, usually around 10-12 inches, each of which is a different diameter, and terminates in a flare fitting to facilitate easy connection to the exterior lineset.
All evaporators include an electrical terminal block which is accessed via a removable cover plate. The evaporator is supplied without any electrical cable and this is normally supplied by the installer and connects the evaporator to the condenser, outside the building.
The standard method of installation requires a hole of approximately 3 inches in diameter to be drilled through the wall at the back of the evaporator and for the flexible insulated condensate drain hose and the two short lineset stubs to be inserted through this hole to the exterior of the building where the condenser, which is the other component of the air conditioning system, is situated. The lineset stubs which now extend outside the building, are then connected to a longer length of lineset, sufficient to reach the condenser, and these, together with the cable, are then connected into the condenser while the drain hose is connected into a drainpipe which directs the condensate drainage away from the building. The other end of the electrical cable is then inserted, from the exterior, through the wall sleeve into the interior of the building and into the rear of the body of the evaporator so it can be connected into the terminal block which is usually situated at the front of the evaporator, on one side. The hole which has been drilled through the wall cannot be left unlined as this will permit the ingress of insects, rodents, wind and moisture into the wall cavity which is highly undesirable.